A magical glimpse of a Spirit Bear cub and its sibling in the Great Bear Rainforest on Canada's Pacific Northwest coast.

Unique to the Pacific Northwest coast of British Columbia, a small percentage of the Kermode Bear, a subspecies of the North American black bear, are born with a recessive gene that produces a white or yellowish fur colour (they are not albinos). The white bears are revered by local First Nations groups that have many names for the special bears, including the well known “Spirit Bear” moniker.

"These image sequences were all part of an effort to make a unique photograph of burrowing owls in their natural habitat. As diurnal birds, they spend most of the day outside their burrow keeping watch for predators. In order to get really close without scaring them, I placed my camera inside a road cone which they had grown accustomed to as a marker for their burrow. Leaving my camera in the cone-hide, I could let it cycle a photo every 2 seconds, offering a rare glimpse into the secret life of burrowing owls."

"Scenes of an adult male [Indigo Bunting] perched on both wild tobacco and thistle singing.This species is rare on the Pacific Coast, although small numbers show up annually during the spring and fall migrations. May 30, 2011, Ojai, California, USA."
-Don DesJardins